Guild Wars 2

Hello everyone,

I’ve been wanting to play a MMO for a long time now and seeing that I got GW2 as a gift from a friend of mine, I’m ready to play.

However, the main issue is that I cannot decide between two classes: Mesmer or Guardian. In general, I do like playing a “non-DPS” aka tank/support which is why I’m stuck between these two classes.

I do realize that both of them have different playstyles, but I cannot figure out which one I want to play more.

If possible, could someone just quickly give a brief overview of what each class does in PvE/PvP/WvW and the likes?

If it is relevant, I’m also duoing with my friend for PvE and PvP if that makes a difference in choosing a class.

In pvp, mesmers aren’t much support oriented, they are heavy bursters. Shatter is however a very fun spec. Med guards are also a thing but you have the ability to play support with a guard. In pve, both are supportive, mesmer is also capable of high level strats with portal. Guardian however is better suited for casual content/ when portal isn’t needed, and it feels, to me at least, closerto the traditional support role giving boons and such instead of the area mitigation of mesmers.

It depends a bit on what your friend is playing as well, but you each have 5 character slots and you can join structured PvP at level 1 with full stats/gear, so I’ll skip the class synergy lesson.

Mesmer:
PvE: Low damage generally, fairly high damage potential under some circumstances. Wanted for portals to skip dangerous/tedious mobs/terrain, backup invis when lacking thief/engi and time warp (increases allies attack speed). Not always easy to find dungeon parties as each party only needs one mesmer at most, not really an issue as long as you don’t get mad about a group not wanting you occasionally.
PvP: Mostly burst damage. Area denial. High level strategic play involving portal.
WvW: Zerg veil/portal bot. Popular solo/small scale roamer with annoying stealth based builds.

Guardian:
PvE: Boon factory. Mitigates large amounts of damage with reflection/blocks/blinds. Very high damage when specced while still offering a high amount of support. Popular in all game modes. Lootstick, I mean, staff is probably the best weapon for getting tags on world event mobs and WvW zergs.
PvP: All-in burst meditation build does great damage but has limited escape. Various bunker builds designed for holding/stalemating points and acting as a team buff/rez bot.
WvW: Zerg parties want 2 guardians each, running builds designed to keep stability on the group near permanently. Altruistic healing trait means you’re usually the last one alive on the battlefield in a wipe. Great profession for zerg commanding. Meditation burst build seen occasionally in roamers but limited escapes makes getting run down by groups too common for most players enjoyment.

Thanks for the replies and with them I’ve decided to go with Mesmer.

Is there any up-to-date guides out there and could someone link me in the right direction, if possible?